9 Mind-Blowing Money Saving Tips for Women
Clare Boothe Luce has rightly said, “A woman’s best protection is a little money of her own.” Whether you want to strengthen the financial base of your family or want to set up your own business, the first thing you need is money. Learning the fundamentals of marketing may help you in this. Financial experts have shared certain financial tips for women to make your job easy. Read onto know what they are.
- Know More About Money Management: According to the renowned financial planner, Kathleen Grace, oftentimes, women mistakenly give the responsibility of managing their earned-money on the shoulders of their partners. But, when they separate or their husbands die, they find themselves in a poor financial condition. They couldn’t manage their money which, worsen the situation further. Hence, Kathleen has recommended that every woman should know how to manage their money so that they can do it without anybody’s help.
- Set Financial Goals: So, how much you’re going to save every month? Have a specific financial goal. It should be based on three main points.
- What you’re planning to achieve
- What sources you will use to achieve it
- When can you achieve it
Set your targeted date. Find out how much money is enough to accomplish the goal within that fixed time limit. Be realistic while framing the goal.
- Increase Your Monthly Income: Being a woman, you have to manage a lot of things, which require both your financial and physical strengths. It has been observed that women earn much less than their potentials. A simple ‘yes’ to lucrative earning opportunities can erase the financial struggle from your life. Even if the job initially is making you feel nervous, don’t stay away from it. As time passes, you’ll get accustomed to it.
- Save for Yourself: Do you want to continue working till retirement? Start saving for yourself. Mostly, women sacrifice their hard-earned money for their kids or families. By doing so, they think they’re helping their families. However, they’re wrong. What they don’t visualize is that they’re actually risking their future support. Consequently, they become a financial burden for their kids. Remember, for giving your kids a good education, loans are available. But, there’s no loan for supporting after you retire.
- Clear All Debts: Among many debts, debts taken for kids’ education mostly weigh down a woman. It may appear a ‘good debt’ to you. However, in the long run, you may find it indigestible, irrespective of its size. Therefore, paying off debts before retiring is judicious. Make sure that you’ve cleared all the loans so as to relax in the retirement period.
- Focus on Saving: The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement has found that women earn through three main sources: Social Security, individual savings, and pension schemes like 401k plan. The absence of other earning sources is mainly due to their frequent absence from their offices to look after their families. As such, their earnings become comparatively less than men’s. It adds to their financial issues more.
- Overestimate Your Financial Requirements: Save more than you may need later. Overestimate your requirements. Today, the lifespan of people have increased hugely. At the same time, inflation reduces the value of money. Healthcare expenditures and taxes can also eat up much of your saved money. According to The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, women prefer to replace their income during retirement to keep pace with their luxurious lifestyle.
- Hunt for Innovative Money Sources: Coauthor of ‘Birthing the Elephant’, Karin Abarbanel suggests beginner businesswomen to take help from crowd-funding sources to expand their start-up budget. Browse sites like Indiegogo, Nap Time Starters, and MoolaHoop to save more on your initial fund.
- Sell Your Services: Is your start-up cost too big for hampering the establishment of your own business? Don’t quit. Rather minimize it by selling your expertise to someone, who will, in turn, serve you. As for instance, you can give someone fitness training who may help you to fund your business, in lieu of it. Many experts call this strategy ‘brains for bucks’.
- Do Marketing Yourself: A great majority of businesswomen struggle to do the marketing of their businesses themselves. Successful entrepreneurs consider marketing as a way of spreading the message of their business instead of selling their products or services. Hence, try to do the marketing yourself because it is only you who knows well about the business goals.
Apart from above-mentioned tips, you should try to cut down your extra expenditures. Does your mobile plan worth it? Do you spend more time in watching TV while spending huge on Laptops? Consider these minor things as it may affect your savings greatly. Reserve your time to frame a practical and proper financial goal and act accordingly.
Jennifer Cooper is a personal finance blogger, who writes about budget planning, retirement planning, credit cards, 401k and personal finance management at her blog at Pro Finance Tips.
Category: Saving Money